cHicKnFEET

Well I got my first check up @ 2700miles everything on my CLS 55 is OK (yah right)

Trans feels to me like it slips every time I take off
I am getting the following messages...
ESP defective
Headlamp Cornering Unavailable.

What’s next -?
Passenger seat rattles like hell (unless I have a passenger)
Wind comes thru drivers door/window yes this means water does too.
When I go WOT sometime it bogs like it leaned out
try'd several time to get the car above 147mph - but it cuts out… I was told it was electronically limited @ 155 hummmm
When I go in reveres the side pass. mirror goes down like I set it to - but when I drive a way it only sometime goes back to normal.

"some1 told me AMG are meant to be driven hard-not sure if I completely believe it"

Any way it’s all off my chest now


I love the car - it drives nice looks good and its almost as fast as my 05 EVO MR (almost)

but I would never buy a MB again customer service sucks and the electrical problems are starting to scare me

Any how just thought I would toss in my 2 pennies about my CLS55

captlst

That is a shame we love ours

Evolution Marine

Having those electrical problems is NOT good news. My CLS55 is coming in Dec. and hearing this really makes me nervous about taking possession of it.

As far as some of the problems go, the bogging on acceleration could be Heat Soak with the blower being disengaged, by the Engine Management System, to keep the motor temperatures with-in their normal operating range. The ESP message could have something to do with the way the Transmission is acting when you take off, and when the motor cuts off at 147 MPH I would definitely say that is Heat Soak. Driving your CLS55 hard like you do may mean that you might be better off having EVO's intercooler cooling up-grade installed.

Anyway, the fact still remains that the Electrical problems should not occur to begin with and add the poor service at your dealership just makes it even worse.

Good Luck and please keep us informed on how this all progresses. - Bob

jmeyers

This past week, with only 1200 miles driven to date, both the ESP and headlight warnings appeared on my dash. The dealer said these problems related to a faulty sensor in the steering column. Unfortunately, there are no replacement sensors available in the United States, and there is no information as to when they will be shipped from Germany. In the interim, I have to live with it. Also, my front passenger seat started squeeking. It was caused by the motor in the headrest being loose. After it was tightened, however, and I next used it, the headrest went up and down but there is a terrible grinding noise. Now that was a first-class repair!

Another problem that has developed just recently is that I cannot switch from FM to AM. The signal stays locked on the previous FM station, and the only way I can get AM is to turn off and then back on the Command system.

I traded in my 2004 E55 in large part due to the electrical problems of that vehicle. It is disturbing to me that new ones are appearing with my CLS 55. I thought that Mercedes Benz had done a lot to improve quality. This is a $110,000 car out the door. That it has these quality problems already is outrageous!

cHicKnFEET

I love my CLS too, I just wanted people to know my feelings about my first 3000 miles

At this point I would not trade the CLS for anything -

Rip N It

I have the same ESP; active headlamps and also distronic failures. They too say that it is the steering sensor. Mine developed at 50 miles though!

I too thought that MBwas out of the woods with the electrical problems. Seems that perhaps they might not be. Bummer. Quite a bit of money to pay to drive a C-class car. I would expect them to perform at a higher level of service than to say that they are BO in Germany. Does that mean that they are not building CLS cars due to this problem?

EKaru

With regard to the rattling seat issue... I have the same problem, though with my C55...
https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c55-amg-w203/116963-anyone-else-notice-their-passenger-seat-rattling.html
Eric....

mashimaro1985

1800 miles and problem free so far ( knock knock touch wood ) ^^ perfect car!

VelocitE55

My CLS55 just started having the same issue (ESP Malfunction/Active Curve Illuminating Headlight Malfunction) 2 days ago and its going in to Steigler tomorrow for it. My Service Tech tells me he's been hearing about this a lot lately. I wish I could just get rid of the ESP altogether or at least be able to turn it off completely when I want to. Still, I would have to have some pretty serious problems to make me dislike this car. Its like a girl who is a pain in the *** sometimes but she's so F'ing hot that you dont mind so much and you deal with the BS.

cntlaw

I truly understand your feeling.
MB should compensate to all owners for such quality in QC.
I am considering to consult legal advice for some of the smiliar problems
I encountered with C55.
My suggestion is to extend warranty for such bad job done in their factory.

cnt

Stiggs

I love it. So true.

jkrutch

Same ESP/Active Headlamp bull**** on mine. What a joke that it is a widespread problem on a 6 figure car. As much as I love the car, I won't tolerate consistent problems. I had virtually no problems with my E55.

Can Drive 55

Someone on the E55 forum said to NEVER buy a new model of MB the first year. Could he be on to something? I have not had any problems with my E55. I got it up to 153, in search of the speed limiter. I had to back off of it for a curve in the road, then came up on traffic. Next time, maybe next time.

waldis

what did the dealer say? you should consult for legal advice if they just leave you hanging. plus, they should be able to fix everything and if not, you can get a new car. (after 3 attempts) MB quality sucks and that is a fact, plus its a first year model....i hope you will be ok at the end. good luck.

Jakpro1

That is just blower engage....it stinks but comes with the monster torque motor..

On the other issues, I am serious, you gotta stay on Benz and the dealer with these. Let them know how unhappy you are. Yes the arguement is "why should I have to do this in the first place". Hopefully the quality issues will be resolved soon. In the meantime, ride these "some b(*&ches" like horses. A few have gotten a new car out of it.

Sorry bout the troubles man. Seems like these cars are either diamonds...or *****.

Weird.

waldis

thats what i noticed too. you either get a good working car, or you get a bad one where problems start to occur within 10k miles.

meanwhile, people keep on buying mercedes, and many of them don't even know about the quality problems. in terms of high performance, no matter how big the engine gets or how much hp they can produce, if the foundation of the car sucks, then why bother to pay all the premium for it? i say wait and see what toyota/lexus comes out with. stay away from the german cars.

idrive

Just had my 1000 mile checkup. So far the car has been perfect!! And will someone give me a Lexus to eat....

SpencerSepang

Sorry 'bout your troubles, check into the Lemon Law before you continue driving it, I wouldn't want to imagine what kind of troubles will appear in the future.

Rareamg

Man, if your paying 100k for a car the dealership should be doing everything possible to fix your problems!!!

RezF

I suspect these problems will continue at MB until they get their **** together. And once they do, we will not see the improvements in the quality control for 2-3 years. It is a shame the best marque in the automotive business has been relegated to the worst.

Rip N It

MB had them first try adjusting the steering angle sensor pins. This apparently did not resolve the issue. They then somehow came up with a replacement part for my car. I picked it up last night and all seems fine.

According to one of the service managers, the CLS has only seen this as a common problem. Hoepfully my cars troubles are out of the way now.

rjhoskins

I've been lurking on these forums for quite some time trying to decide which 'family' sports car will be next for me. The CLS 55 WAS at the top of my list. I must tell you it is quite depressing to see how many problems you guys are having with your brand new 100k US dollars cars. This has all pretty much decided for me that MB will not be my next venture.

Ryan

E320Star

Did MB contract IBM to outsource their cars to be assembled in India !!
You all talk about your MB as if it is a ford Tempo which does not have any of these symptems.

swisstrader

mine has 6000 miles on it and no problems whatsoever...love the car, love the service, no issues...ALL high end cars have some issues...go check any Porsche chat site for the exact same concerns, so folks who make a decision on whether or not to buy a car based on folks expressing concerns on a chatsite are being silly...great car all around!

Speed Thrills

I just picked up mine on Sat from fletcher jones and my long time friend that works there (total benz tech nut) told me those were indeed problems when the CLS first rolled out and was quickly fixed in production and is no longer an issue. Not to say other things won't come up but good to know they nipped thsi problem in the bud.